Unwinding of continuous filament yarns



Dec. 17, 1940. WQPOOL 2,224,921

UNWINDING OF CONTINUOUS FILAMENT YARNS- Filed Oct. 6, 1938 I n venlor y by ' MMWM W Anorney Patented Dee. 17, 1940 UNITED -sTATEs PATENT OFFICE William Pool, Spondon, near Derby, England, as-

signor to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application October 6, 1938, Serial No. 233,534 In Great Britain October 29, 1937 8 Claims.

This invention relates to the unwinding of continuous iilament yarns from bundles or packages into which they have been formed.

According to the present invention continuous laments wound on a package are unwound as a.

plurality of ends by positively rotating the package about its axis and subjecting each of the ends to the action of a fluid stream so as to exert thereon a non-positive pull to draw the ends from the package at a rate permitted by the rate of positive rotation of said package. 'I'he rotation of the package support frees the continuous laments for removal from the package at the peripheral speed of the surface of the package,`

and the non-positive pull serves to keep the ends separate by gently withdrawing the ends' apart and preventing odd filaments of one end from being caught in the other end. Conveniently, compressed air jets may be used to pull the ends as they leave the package.

While the invention is generally applicable to withdrawing from a single package a vplurality of ends, especially where the filaments contain very little or no twist, it is of particular advantage in 25 withdrawing filaments that have been laid substantially as a single end by a single traverse member, since it permits the separation of the ends notwithstanding the Vcloseness of the positions at which they have been laid on the pack- 30 age. Thus; for example, the product of a single spinning jet in a spinning machine may be led to a traverse member comprising two guide openings, the product being divided into two ends passed one through each of the openings. The two openings serve to lay each end with substantially the same traverse, to cause gne end to follow a tangential path slightly different from that followed by the other end, with the result that the two ends are laid slightly out of phase.

40 When unwinding takes place by a positive rotation of the package support, the out of phase positioning of the two ends helps them to leave the package separately, and the non-positive pull exerted on them keeps odd laments of one end 45 from straying into the other end. 'Ihe package support may rotate at a constant angular speed such as` those described in U. S. applications S.i Nos. 155,226 iiled 23rd July 193'?4 and 168,862 led 55 14th October 1987 -for the direct production from duringunwinding so as .to compensate for deobtained from a single package of continuousl filaments.

By way of example two forms of unwinding apparatus according to the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing in which Figs. 1 and 2 are a front elevation and a side elevation respectively of one form of unwinding apparatus according to the invention; and

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a. modification of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2.y j y Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, I is apackage of continuous laments, which are woundk as two ends 2 each of which is in the form of a bundle of continuous laments. The package I is provided with anges 3 each of which rests between a pair of friction rollers 4 mounted' upon shafts 5 and driven -fr'om a shaftS by means of a pair of 'gears 1, and a `chain 8 running round sprockets 9. By thesemeans the package I is positively rotated at a constant angular speed. The ends 2 are drawn from the package I at a rate controlled by the rateof rotation of the package. For this purpose the'ends 2 afterv passing through a guide I0 .and round a roller II, provided for a purpose to be described hereafter, pass through a guide tube I2y having an air nozzle I3 supplied with compressed air through a 30 pipe I4 and valve I5 from a header I6. The tractive effort of the blast of air from the nozzle I3 passing through the tube I2 draws the end 2 gently from the package I so thatv the end 2 leaves the package at the rate permitted by the rate of rotation ofthe package as determined by the speed of the friction wheels I.

From the guide tube I2 the end 2 procedes to an apparatus of the kind described in U. S. application S. No. 155,226 by means of which it is 40 converted :directly into a staple nbre yarn. ,This l comprises a guide member IIV having an internal air jet lli'supplied with air through' a pipe I9 from the header I 6. The jet I8 blows the laments out through a ldiverging nozzle 20 whose 45 mouth is fof iiattened cross-section as shown in Fig. 1 so'thatthe laments of the end 2 emerge as awide atI band of separatedv filaments. The laments are severed at regular intervals by means of a' cutter 2| ofthe hair clipper type opr50 erated vby an arm v22, 'the cutter being obliquely set so as'to cut the Wide band of filaments issuing from thenozzle20in such a waythat the ends of the fibres so produced are staggered. The groups of fibres so cut are received on a band 23 55 and are held there by suction induced by a suction pipe 24, the band 23 conducting them to a pair of rubbing bands 25 by means of which they are compacted into a continuous coherent staple bre product as described in U. S. application S. No. 155,226. As will be seen from Fig. 1 the guide I0, roller Il, guide tube I2 and all subsequent parts are duplicated so that the two ends 2 drawn from the package I are separately handled after they leave the package.

In order to assist the at diverging nozzle 20 to separate the laments into a at band the guide IB and roller II are provided, the roller Il being provided, as described in U. S. application S. No. 233,535, iiled October 6, 1938, with a surface 26'of material such as rubber, gutta percha, or like substance suitably removed in the electrostatic series from the basic material of the filaments. The roller II is driven from the shaft 8 by means of a belt 21 and pulleys 28 and 29 mounted respectively on the shaft 6 and on the shaft 30 carrying the rollers I I. The dimensions of the pulleys 28 and 29 are such that the peripheral speed of the roller I I is greater than that of the end 2 passing over litso that frictionalcontact with the roller II does not hinder the guide tube I2 and nozzle I3 in the drawing of the ends 2 from the package I. The guide I0 is adjustable so that the arc of contact of the end 2 on the roller II may be adjusted so as to adjust the degree of electriiication produced. For this purpose the guide I is formed on the end of a. rod 3I passing through small holes in spring members 32 mounted on a bar 33. As the members spring outwards the holes in them through which the rod 3| passes grip therod, but by pinching the members 32 together the rod 3| is released and the position of the guide I0 -may be adjusted. 'I'he bar 33 may be traversed to and" fro along the length of the rollers II so as to change the part of the surface of the rollers Il with which the ends 2 make contact.

In Fig. 3 s'shown a form of apparatus suitable for delivering filaments at a constant linear rate. The package 35 is mounted between a pair ofdriving rollers 36, which are similar to the driving wheels I described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, but, instead of contacting only with flanges at the ends of the package, extend across the whole width of the package 35 and contact with the surface of the package, theianges 3 describedwith reference to Figs. l and 2 not being employed. By these means the package 35 is rotated at a constant peripheral speed and the ends 2 leaving the package 35 are permitted to be drawn away at a constant linear speed. The ends 2 drawn from the package 35 pass through guides 31 mounted on a bar 38, and proceed to a guide tube I2, being subsequently handled in the manner described with reference to Figs. 1

and 2.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of unwinding continuous filaments as a plurality of ends from a package on which they are wound, said method comprising rotating said package about its axis at a definite rotating said package about its axis at a denite rate and subjecting each of the ends separately and simultaneously to the action of a stream of compressed air so as to exert thereon a nonpositive pull to draw the ends from the package at a rate permitted by the rate of rotation of said package.

3. A method of unwinding continuous filaments as a plurality of ends from a package on which they are Wound, said method comprising rotating said package about its axis at a constant angular speed and subjecting each of the ends separately and simultaneously to the action of a fluid stream so as to exert thereon a non-positive pull to draw the ends fromv the package at a rate permitted by the rate of rotation of said package.

4. A method of unwinding continuous laments as a plurality of ends from a package on which they arewound, said method comprising rotating said package about its axis at a constant peripheral speed and subjecting4 each of the ends separately and simultaneously to the staple fiber products a lurality of ends of conso tinuous laments wound on a single package, said method comprising rotating said package about its axis at a definite rate, subjecting each of the ends separately and simultaneously to the action of a fluid stream so as to exert thereon a non-positive pull to draw the ends from the-package at a rate permitted by the rate of rotation of said package, separating the laments of each end from one another, cutting from each end successive groups of separated fibers in such a manner that the successive groups overlap and compacting the succession of groups of bers from each end into a continuous staple ber product.

6. A method of converting into a plurality of staple fiber products a plurality of ends of continuous filaments wound on a single package, said method comprising rotating said package about its axis at a definite rate, subjecting each of the ends separately and simultaneously to the action of a uid stream so as to exert thereon a non-positive pull to draw the ends from the package at a rate permitted by the rate of rotation of said package and in such a manner as to separate the filaments oi' each end from one another, cutting from each end successive groups of separated `iibers in such a manner that the successive groups overlap and compacting the succession of groups of bers from each end into a continuous staple fiber product.

7. A method of converting into a plurality of staple fiber products a plurality of ends oi.' continuous filaments wound on a single package, said method comprising rotating said package about its axis at a definite rate, subjecting'each of the ends separately and simultaneously to the action of a uid stream so as to exert thereon a non-positive pull to draw the ends from the package at 'a rate permitted by the rate of rotation of said package, imparting to the laments of each end a charge of static electricity so as to separate said ii'laments from one another, cutting from each end successive groups of separated bers in such a manner that the successive groups overlap and compacting the succession ments leaving said package so as to exert a nonpositive pull upon said end, and a roller surfaced with material remote in the electrostatic series from the substance of the laments and disposed between the package rotating means and the jet so as to make rubbing contact with the filaments and to impart to said laments a charge of static electricity.

WILLIAM POOL. 

